AFL Player 5: Elijah Tsatas

[Nuggs Bunny]

 

[Red Black and Blue]

What does there look like?

Forget where he was taken, we got the pick wrong like I said at the time. Dodoro is gone so no point sticking the boot in there more.

Back him in, he sounds like a very hard worker. He still has a stack of growth physically so hopefully another 5-6kgs, another ten metres on his kicking penetration, a little tidier, a little faster. Steady growth and he gets there.

 

[dank420_]

team america vomit GIF

We've got a real type, don't we?



Does anyone have a worse strike rate with first rounds mids than Heppell, Kavanagh, Parish, Perkins, Hobbs and Tsatas? You could add McGrath to that list.

Don’t like match winners?

 

[yodellinhank]

Don’t like match winners?

I thought Stringer was the match winner, off his own boot? Tsatas just does things at will.

 

[dank420_]

Right

 

[crackers65]

Didn’t even realise he was playing in first half. Another who is allergic to physical contact.

 

[ant555]

Really struggled wit their physical game . Finished off okay but it concerns me that even after his injury issues he is still no coming to terms with the physical side of things.
Also got done rather easily as far as reading the early clearance.

 

[JT_the_Man]

I’d like to see us persist. Nothing to lose by playing him for another 3-4 weeks.

He was impressive in the pre-season, let’s see if he can adjust to the pace. I’m not convinced we made the right pick but I’d also like to see him get a proper crack at it.

 

[Agronomus]

Forget where he was taken, we got the pick wrong like I said at the time. Dodoro is gone so no point sticking the boot in there more.

Back him in, he sounds like a very hard worker. He still has a stack of growth physically so hopefully another 5-6kgs, another ten metres on his kicking penetration, a little tidier, a little faster. Steady growth and he gets there.

Careful, we don't want to be even the slightest bit optimistic about him. One game should be enough to judge his whole career

 

[BomberTime]

Yeah I’m not sure about him. Happy to give him a good run of games and see if he can develop.

But some of those kicks… geez.

He also plays for frees as soon as he’s tackled. Needs to cut this out.

 

[Old Campaigner]

I’d like to see us persist. Nothing to lose by playing him for another 3-4 weeks.

He was impressive in the pre-season, let’s see if he can adjust to the pace. I’m not convinced we made the right pick but I’d also like to see him get a proper crack at it.

He was playing against Essendon during the preseason and everyone looks good against Essendon

 

[JayJ20]

The impression I had was that he would end up being a big bodied mid that could wear contact and burst out of stoppages with power.

I'm yet to see his ability to use his size to wear contact/break tackles and yet to see that power in his running. He is also comfortably one of the worst kicks in the game and I mean that in a way that cannot be carried at AFL level. We complain about Shiel, McGrath, Hobbs and Parish being bad kicks but they are AFL level bad kicks.

Tsatas is not an AFL level bad kick. He is a VFL level bad kick and needs to be elite at other areas of the game for us to be carrying his kicking.

We'll see how he goes in the next couple of weeks, but I'm not overly optimistic.

 

[BrunoV]

Forget where he was taken, we got the pick wrong like I said at the time. Dodoro is gone so no point sticking the boot in there more.

Back him in, he sounds like a very hard worker. He still has a stack of growth physically so hopefully another 5-6kgs, another ten metres on his kicking penetration, a little tidier, a little faster. Steady growth and he gets there.

Would anyone be advocating for him if he wasn't pick 5?

Parish, Tsatas and Hobbs can't kick the ball. How much ball, even with just 2 of these players, are you prepared to burn?

It's not worked in the past. Why does it work now?

 

[Hamster12]

Pretty demoralising performance. Just cannot kick the football

 

[ant555]

Did not fire a shot in first half. Could not find footy and even worse, his direct opponents were regularly winning clearances. Zero physicality, was uncompetitive.

Second half better and managed to get involved and find some footy….although impact was very minimal. Kicking was rubbish but he was very clean by hand at times, which is something.

My concerns remain - he struggles to get involved in chains, can’t kick, lacks physicality and can’t play anywhere other than midfield. Assume low TOG reflects the last point….if he’s not playing mid, he’s on the bench.

There are two conversations to be had re Tsatas at this point….The first one is the decision by the club to take him at pick 5, the second one is can he become an AFL player.

To me it’s clear as day that we got the pick wrong. He’s not the type of player we (and others) thought he was and given his significant flaws, probably shouldn’t have been drafted in first round. None of which is his fault, that’s on our recruiting team.

Can he become a real AFL player and get to say 100-150 games? Haven’t put a line though him yet but I’m sceptical - feels to me like his flaws are more meaningful than his strengths.

This is the part that just turns me off. I do not mind outside players but an inside midfielder simply has to have it in him like Caldwell and Durham do and like Hobbs has although Hobbs is simply a butcher by foot as well. Like you say not only could he not find the footy early , anyone who lined up on him did find the footy. It is why I question using a top end pick on a guy who yes can find the footy on his terms but has a few areas that need serious improvement. I am with you. I have taken on board his injury issues and it was going to take time for him and he may still be a good player but like you say is he the player we really wanted. If he can not break the lines then no he is not.

 

[Vander18]

It is why I question using a top end pick on a guy who yes can find the footy on his terms

“On his terms” is a good way of phrasing how he plays. Needs to scrap and fight harder to win or neutralise the contests that don’t go his way.

 

[JT_the_Man]

He was playing against Essendon during the preseason and everyone looks good against Essendon

31 disposals against WB & Geel was more my point.

 

[JT_the_Man]

The impression I had was that he would end up being a big bodied mid that could wear contact and burst out of stoppages with power.

I'm yet to see his ability to use his size to wear contact/break tackles and yet to see that power in his running. He is also comfortably one of the worst kicks in the game and I mean that in a way that cannot be carried at AFL level. We complain about Shiel, McGrath, Hobbs and Parish being bad kicks but they are AFL level bad kicks.

Tsatas is not an AFL level bad kick. He is a VFL level bad kick and needs to be elite at other areas of the game for us to be carrying his kicking.

We'll see how he goes in the next couple of weeks, but I'm not overly optimistic.

The kick looked to have improved a little before last night - but honestly, VFL level bad kick is generous to some of the kicks I’ve seen from him over the last 12 months. He’d be considered a below average kick at local level.

 

[faible]

The kick looked to have improved a little before last night - but honestly, VFL level bad kick is generous to some of the kicks I’ve seen from him over the last 12 months. He’d be considered a below average kick at local level.

Pressure has gone up from VFL to preseason to AFL. Looks like he settled a bit more in the second half as he got up to the pace.

He certainly looked to have improved it, see how he goes with a block of games to get used to the pace of AFL midfield.

We’re a young side, we’ve got a good draft hand, no harm in letting him cook for a bit and see how he’s looking after a month in the middle at AFL level.

 

[doug85]

People shitting on Tsatas first half a lot. He was actually on the bench most of the time. Not sure he even had 50% game time in the first half.

Overall TOG only 57%. Hard to have an impact when you’re not out there.

 

[Westlo]

If only Draper was playing for Hawthorn... Tsatas would've had ten clearances in 57% time on ground.

 

[Vander18]

People shitting on Tsatas first half a lot. He was actually on the bench most of the time. Not sure he even had 50% game time in the first half.

Overall TOG only 57%. Hard to have an impact when you’re not out there.

He had ample time on ground in first half to assess that he was shite. All his game time was in the middle - he couldn’t win footy and he couldn’t stop his man winning footy.

Second half was better.

 

[Red Black and Blue]

Would anyone be advocating for him if he wasn't pick 5?

Parish, Tsatas and Hobbs can't kick the ball. How much ball, even with just 2 of these players, are you prepared to burn?

It's not worked in the past. Why does it work now?

Probably not but he is.

Id scrap the other two and persist with Tsatas. The end product has the potential to be something. The others are maxxed at what they are.

 

[ant555]

As far as early game time goes he started on the bench and it took 9 minutes for the first goal so he was always going to have an issue getting on the ground. Despite the lowish game time he was at 61% of our center bounces which was the second highest for us behind Caldwell.

 

[doug85]

He had ample time on ground in first half to assess that he was shite. All his game time was in the middle - he couldn’t win footy and he couldn’t stop his man winning footy.

Second half was better.

We know. You’ve been saying how shit he is ad nauseum.

 

[ant555]

We know. You’ve been saying how shit he is ad nauseum.

He was pretty ordinary when he got on. First 10 minutes he was on the ground he had a couple of scrappy handballs and got beaten at center bounce 3 out of 4 and also had a couple of moments where he was close to the contest and should have tackled but he did not commit and back stepped. Was also found wanting as far as his defensive positioning a couple of time although he was not alone there during that 15 minute run by the Hawks. I am with Vander. He is still doing the same stuff that I seriously questioned before he was drafted. Hope I am wrong . I can only see him being a B grade acumulaotor with limited line breaking ability. Good hands for sure but that is it. Dare I say it he is a poor mans Darcy Parish in my opinion. But as they say opinions are like , you know what , everyone has one.